“Undertake the prayer
at the time of the declining sun to the darkness of the night and the morning
recitation; for indeed the morning recitation is witnessed”(Holy Qur'an:
Chapter 17, Verse 78)

The Shi'ah acknowledge the five obligatory
daily prayers. However, they frequently combine the Zuhr and 'Asr prayers by
offering them consecutively during the time period defined by the start of Zuhr and the end of 'Asr. They also consider it permissible to combine the Maghrib and 'Isha prayers in a similar manner. This practice is in complete
agreement with the Qur'an as well as authentic traditions from the Prophet (s).

The Sunni schools of law (fiqh) - with the exception of the Hanafi school - allow thecombining of the obligatory prayers (al-jam` bayn al-salatayn) in the case
of rain, travel, fear, or other emergencies. The Hanafi school of law prohibits
the combination of the daily prayers at any time, with the exception of the
prayers at Al-Muzdalifa during the
Hajj. The Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali schools of law all agree on the
permissibility of combining the prayers when one is travelling, but have
differences of opinion on other reasons. The Shi'ah Ja'fari school of law
states that one can combine the prayers without any particular reason.

Prayer timings according
to the Holy Qur'an

q"If
we interpret the darkness (ghasaq) as
being the time when darkness first appears then the term ghasaq refers to the beginning of Maghrib. On this basis, three timings are mentioned in the verse:
‘the time of noon, the time of the beginning of Maghrib and the time of Fajr'.
This requires that noon be the time of Zuhr
and `Asr, this time is shared between
these two prayers. The time of the beginning of Maghrib is the time for Maghrib
and 'Isha' so this time is also
shared between these two prayers. This requires allowing the combining between Zuhr and `Asr and between Maghrib
and 'Isha' at all times. However,
there is proof to indicate that combining whilst at home without any excuse is
not allowed. This leads to the view that the combining be allowed when
travelling or when there is rain etc."

[Fakhr al-Din
al-Razi, al-Tafsir al-Kabir, vol. 5, p. 428]

We will shortly point out irrefutable evidence
that combining prayers without any excuse is perfectly valid. However, it is
clear that the times of the
obligatory prayers are only three:

1)The
time of the two obligatory prayers, Zuhr
(noon) and `Asr (afternoon), which is
shared between the two.

2)The
time of the two obligatory prayers Maghrib
(dusk) and 'Isha' (night) which is
also shared between the two.

q'Abdullah
b. Shaqiq reported: Ibn 'Abbas one day addressed us in the afternoon (after the
afternoon prayer) till the sun disappeared and the stars appeared, and the
people began to say: Prayer, prayer. A person from Banu Tamim came there. He
neither slackened nor turned away, but (continued crying): Prayer, prayer. Ibn
'Abbas said: “May you be deprived of your mother, do you teach me Sunnah?” And
then he said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) combining
the noon (Zuhr) and afternoon (`Asr) prayers and the dusk (Maghrib)and night ('Isha')
prayers.” 'Abdullah b. Shaqiq said: “Some doubt was created in my mind about
it. So I came to Abu Huraira and asked him (about it) and he testified to his
assertion.”

Many traditions from the Prophet (s) clearly
indicate that he used to combine prayers without
any particular reason.

qThe
Prophet (s) prayed in Madinah, while residing there, not travelling, seven and
eight (this is an indication to the seven Raka't of Maghrib and 'Isha' combined,
and the eight Raka't of Zuhr and `Asr combined).

[Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad, vol.
1, page 221]

qThe
Prophet (s) prayed Zuhr and `Asr in combination and Maghrib and 'Isha' in combination without a reason for fear or travel.

[Malik ibn Anas, al-Muwatta', vol.
1, page 161]

Indeed, we are even told in some traditions
about the rationality behind this practice of the Prophet (s). It was for the convenience of the ummah!

qIbn
'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah (s) combined the noon prayer with
the afternoon prayer and the sunset prayer with the 'Isha' prayer in Medina without being in a state of danger or
rainfall. And in the hadith transmitted by Waki' (the words are): “I
said to Ibn 'Abbas: What prompted him to do that? He said: So that his (Prophet's) Ummah should not be put to (unnecessary)
hardship.”

qThe Messenger
of Allah (s) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together in Medina without
being in a state of fear or in a state of journey. Abu Zubair said: “I
asked Sa'id (one of the narrators) why he did that. He said: I asked Ibn 'Abbas
as you have asked me, and he replied that he
(the Holy Prophet) wanted that no one among his Ummah should be put to
(unnecessary) hardship.”

[Sahih Muslim, English translation,
Kitab al-Salat, Book 4, Chapter 100 Combination
of prayers when one is resident, hadith no. 1516]

Even if it is allowed, why do it?

No one suggests that there is anything wrong
with praying the individual prayers separately. Zuhr and `Asr prayers and
Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers can be offered either combined or separately.
However, this practice of combining the two prayers by the Prophet (s) reflects
the Divine Grace of Allah (swt) for the convenience of the ummah, and there are good reasons why it has become customary
amongst the Shi'ah:

qPeople
are often busy with their own affairs and have their own duties and anxieties,
particularly in countries where the educational or work system is not
structured to cater to the requirements for Muslims to offer their daily
prayers. Some professions require long hours of continuous, uninterrupted work.
Hence, for convenience, and in order to avoid missing the second of the two
prayers, the Shi'ah offer their two prayers in one interval, whether early or
late, during the appointed time.

qWhere
people gather from far and wide to offer one of the two prayers and since it is
permissible to combine them, they offer the two prayers one after another in
congregation. This way they have both fufilled their obligations as well as
participated in the congregation (jama'ah)
prayers thus gaining the increased reward. Consider the example of Friday
prayers. We observe that thousands of Sunni bretheren offer their Friday
prayers on time but many of them fail to offer the `Asr prayers at all, let alone in congregation. On the other hand a
Shi'i Muslim who offers Friday prayers will invariably perform the `Asr prayer in congregation.

qThe
fact that this sunnah is not
generally adopted by our Sunni brothers is another reason why the Shi'ah feel
they must keep it alive. We would like our children and other Muslims and the
posterity to know that the practice of combining the Zuhr and `Asr, and the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers is permissible as well as from the sunnah (established practice) of the
Holy Prophet (s).

Conclusion

Combining Zuhr
and `Asr prayers, and Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers, is in accordance with the Qur’an and permissible
according to the sunnah of Prophet
(s), besides being more convenient. The fact that this well-evidenced sunnah is not generally practiced by our
Sunni brothers does not make it inapplicable in our lives. As the famous Sunni
commentator of Sahih Muslim, al-Nawawi, writes:

When a practice
(Sunnah) is confirmed authentic, it is not abandoned just because some, most or
all people abandon it.